TEHRAN (Press Shia) – A former Iranian ambassador to Ankara said a Turkish move to deploy forces to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region would require permission from Baghdad, warning that any presence of Turkish troops in that region should be temporary.

Turkey’s military forces would not enter the Iraqi Kurdistan Region without permission from the Baghdad government, Firouz Dowlatabadi told Press Shia.

He also emphasized that any Turkish plan for military presence in the Kurdistan Region ought to be temporary and should lead to the destruction of the terrorist groups that have infiltrated into Iraq.

Pointing to Turkey’s military operation in the predominantly Kurdish region of Afrin in northern Syria, Dowlatabadi stressed that such a presence should not last long because Turkey would gradually face problems if it seeks to keep its troops there.

Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch in the northern Syrian region in January, its second military intervention in the Arab country since 2011, after Washington said it would set up a border force comprising 30,000 Kurdish militants near Turkish soil.

Syria has slammed both Turkish and US military activities on its soil as a violation of the Arab nation’s sovereignty.